H.H. Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum launches Future Aviation Lounge Powered by DAFZA during Dubai Air Show 2017

UAE, November 13, 2017 - His Highness (H.H.) Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, launched the "Future Aviation Lounge, Powered by DAFZA" initiative during this year's edition of the Dubai Airshow 2017. The "Future Aviation Lounge" is the first business social network that accelerates and encourages innovation within Aviation industry, making it simpler for members to share knowledge, expertise and more among themselves. IBM Watson empowers the lounge and adds a new dimension of personal assistance and intelligent analysis to the network to inspire and engage members with clarity, insights and focus on outcomes.

The Lounge is targeting the community of aviation industry from Government Sector, MNCs, SMEs, Academic Institutions and individual experts - to connect, engage and innovate in order to encourage collaboration on all levels.  Powered by DAFZA, the Future Aviation Lounge aims to shape the future of the aviation industry in Dubai, which is expected to contribute 45 percent of the Emirate's total GDP by 2030.

The initiative focuses on nurturing youths who are pursuing the academic study in Aviation/Aerospace, and helping them connect with high profile members, or be exposed to more career opportunities whether in Government entities or MNCs to gain experience. It also aims to promote them as key contributors to the industry's growth via sharing their ideas and visions with the experts in the Future Aviation Lounge.

H.H. Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman, DAFZA; expressed his confidence in this unique network, pointing out that it is a value-adding initiative toward Dubai's efforts into crowning itself as the city of innovation, empowered by Artificial Intelligence and envisioning the future, especially in the move to develop the aviation industry in the UAE, which has made a lot of achievements in a short period. This industry is a vital component within the economic structure of the UAE in general and Dubai in particular.

H.H added that the lounge will be an active enabler for current and future generations to create sustainable solutions by spreading knowledge, research and co-create a bright future for the aviation industry in a non-traditional approach. He also expressed his optimism about the role of the Future Aviation Lounge, which will be a leading platform that promotes a culture of collaboration among different entities, which is the future of aviation.

In this regard, H.E. Dr. Mohammed Al Zarooni, Director General, DAFZA, said that the Future Aviation Lounge comes in response to the leadership's inspiring support for the aviation industry and its rapid growth indicators in contributing to the economic prosperity of Dubai and the UAE. The Future Aviation Lounge initiative represents a substantial future envisioned for the aviation sector in the UAE and the world, through a digital business network aims to achieve the vision of the pioneers in the industry and to invest all the efforts and aspects that benefit the development of the aviation industry among community's members. The Lounge represents an essential step in using artificial intelligence technology to achieve the highest levels of industrial productivity and economic growth, in line with DAFZA's Innovation Strategy goals.

H.E. Dr. Al Zarooni extended an invitation to all government, private, academic and aviation partners to join the Future Aviation Lounge and work together towards innovating and reinforcing cooperation to help drive in more development and shape the future of the aviation industry around the world.

IBM is the technology partner of the Future Aviation Lounge initiative. The new network will allow its members to create and manage their profiles, share ideas through blogs and discussion forums. It will also enable reinforcing joint work by creating internal groups from different parties and engaging them in interactive discussions among all the members to strengthen their role as a team and contribute to their efforts. The network also provides its members the opportunity to be updated with the latest aviation news and developments in Dubai and the world, which will enhance the growth of business competitiveness and help collaborate and innovate.

The Future Aviation Lounge initiative is one of DAFZA's contributions to further enhance and reinforce direct communication between the government and free zone companies. The aviation sector is one of the major sectors within DAFZA’s scope, acquiring eight per cent of the total of companies. To date, DAFZA is home to many multinational and international companies, which are leading contributors to both the local and global economy.